Beloved Jacobs.

Adira was seated at the passenger seat of Lucas car, she watched his hands tighten around the steering trying to move as fast as he could.

" you can calm down you know, he's not dead yet" she sniffed 

"we need to get there on time" Luca spoke not even sparing her a glance.

" yes but alive"

He gave her a frown accompanied with a small nod and reduced his pace "yes ma'am"

She chuckled and slapped his arm lightly, he let out a dramatic scream, she rolled her eyes at that.

"Dang girl! What you been feeding on?"

She giggled, glancing at her friend, he had always been there for her and their friendship had aged so well over the years.

He drove into the hospital parking in a corner instantaneously 

"I'd be right here, call me if you need me" she nodded trying to be the strongest person she could, and gave him a warm smile before stepping out the vehicle.

Elizabeth approached her the moment she stepped into the building 

"how is he?" her voice was weak and her face pale.

" I don't know" the female nurse panicked "everything is ongoing"

"Okay, okay" she spoke "let's remain on the positive side, everything will be fine"

Elizabeth nodded and it amazed Adira that a woman could love a stranger so much.

They had been out there for about 4 hours, she didn't want to approach no one to avoid panicking, so she sat still and chewed on her nails, an action she hardly partook in, as a matter of fact she felt gravely irritated by it but her anxiety was at its peak right now and it seemed to be the only thing that yielded her solace.

"Can I get you something to drink" Elizabeth asked and Adira met her gaze

"no, no I'm good"

"Adira" the nurse began "please"

"iced coffee, thank you" Elizabeth nodded and left forthwith, she needed this break as much as anyone else.

The nurse had returned right in time, the doctor had called for Adira and was advancing towards her.

"Miss Jacob" he called again.

"yes, yes, that's me" the young lady confirmed "how is he?" she asked, Crossing her fingers, a habit she was fond of when she hoped for good tidings.

"your father has cancer, leukaemia" the doctor said rather boldly.

what?? 

" I don't think that's right, sir" she chuckled " I spoke with him yesterday, he seemed just fine, he was perfectly well, if you need to run more tests we could wait i'd be very patient and let you do your thing."

The doctor smiled at her and wrapped his hands around the coffee, he was used to these kind of patients and would do what he normally did.

"we're certain it's leukaemia, there had been some observed mutation in the DNA of some cells in his bone marrow causing abnormal development and functioning in these cells, you just have to stay on the positive side and work with us, your father needs all the support and love he can get from you right now please stay strong, I'll see you in a short while" he nodded at the young lady and passed a small smile to the nurse beside her before walking away quickly.

"Elizabeth" Adira whispered 

"Shh.. shh.., it's fine pull it together love" Elizabeth held the fragile girl before her, watching her tighten her lips and keep her face plain, her eyes dark and empty.

"excuse me" she said and walked away.

The moment she shut the door to the toilet, she let out a loud cry.

This was it, the end, how was she going to support her father, could he even stay strong enough? Where'd the money even come from? She was panicking 

"Adira calm the fuck down" she yelled to herself.

Oh God!

Her breathing paused, her eyes filled with tears. She was fond of holding up but she couldn't anymore, so she let it out. She cried so much that her eyes felt heavy and drowsy, everything spinning and she took a moment to calm herself down. She couldn't have a panick attack, not here, not now.

A few minutes later and she was out. Elizabeth informed her about a doctors arrival to see her, she nodded and approached a nurse for more information. In no time, she was sat before a doctor in a room occupied with photos of cancer patients perhaps, human body parts and inspirational quotes.

" you requested for me" she gazed at him.

" you know we need to communicate" he stared at her, his eyes full of pity and that disgusted the young lady so badly.

"Indeed"

"I'm your father's oncologist, Dr Smith, and I would like to begin the chemotherapy and other medications as soon as possible, however, we do need to discuss payments, we would begin regardless of full payments, but we need a start from you to actually involve ourselves in your father's condition." he peered at her, through his glasses.

"Go on"

"A basic round of chemo can cause $10,000 to $100,000 or more, it varies obviously" he paused  "in your father's case, we are dealing with stage 3 leukaemia and it might require about 4  sessions a year, which would cost $48,000 in total. However, we'd like to begin the first session as soon as possible, so we hope that $12,000 dollars could be deposited to us to begin process or at least half of it, we would start whenever you're ready ma'am, the earlier the better" the oncologist took a sip of water and smiled at the woman before him.

"can I see my father please" he stared at her in disbelief.

"Ma'am, I just .."

"where is my father" she demanded.

He studied her for a while then pressed the button to a bell afterwards awaiting the arrival of the nurse 

The male nurse came not long after, he spoke with the doctor and signalled her to come along.

 The moment her eyes met with her father's she ran to him and gave him a hug, it lasted so long but felt brief the instant they had pulled away.

" I'm so sorry sweetheart I...."

"hey, hey, it's ok Dad, it's fine" she said wrapping her hands over his.

"'I'm too much of a burden for you love, I just want you to focus on your studies, I'd be fine, I'd learn to cope." he smiled and she fought the urge to cry.

" I love you Dad and I'll be here all the time, all the while" 

He looked at his daughter and as she stared back, she saw the tears and fear in his eyes, finally he let them pour.

Oh beloved Jacobs!

"Dad it's really fine, please don't cry" she frowned hugging her father tightly

"The money, how could we ever afford that" his voice cracked as he spoke.

"it's fine dad, I told you my baking is providing enough, everything will be alright please look at me" she pressured.

 He raised his feeble head to meet her gaze and she smiled, her eyes red and swollen but as she saw her dad before her, she knew she had to be strong, strong for him .

"All will be well dad, please don't bother"  her heart was deeply troubled, but the moment her father nodded at her and kissed her hands, she knew there'd be a way.

 she spent almost two hours with her dad before sending Elizabeth in, she dropped some money with the nurse for feeding and care, said a few goodbyes and promised to be back as soon as possible.

 As Adira stepped into the cold dark night, she shivered, she had arrived at the hospital 10 hours ago and was just leaving.

Oh shit! Luca, she had forgotten to call him.

"hey Luca" she said into the speaker the moment he had picked.

"hi love, you done?"

"Yeah" she replied quietly "i'm sorry I didn't update you"

" it's fine" he said "are you ready to leave now?"

" what?!"  no  way 

"are you still here?" her voice came again puzzled.

"Off course love where else"

 "Luca, it's so late, you really should'nt have, have you had anything to eat?" she panicked trying to pace around the little distance she occupied

"You always panick Adira,  I'm fine, walk down let's get you home"

And at the moment, she realized that even though the road was rough,  she wasn't driving alone she had Luca, Elizabeth and the strongest person she had ever known herself.

-----------------------------

Luca was trying to make her feel the most comfortable she could feel. He would never understand how she felt because he had never been in such a situation but he knew it would hurt Adira so much.

The young man knew how much she loved her father. He knew how much they connected with each other, although he never really experienced fatherly love, he had his mother all through and he could imagine how devastated he would be if anything happened to her.

“I think you should freshen up” he smiled at her, trying to read her mind.

“yeah, I should” Adira sniffed watching him study her.

“come, I’d show you”

He held her hands guiding her movements, she knew he cared deeply for her but even with him besides her, she couldn’t surpass the feeling of loneliness that clouded her. Luca took her to a large room, it was not something she'd describe as fancy but she loved it.

It made her feel satisfied and comfortable, she was the kind of person to find happiness or get excited in very common things, so it hadn't surprised him when she turned to him and spoke, smiling “I like it Lu, thank you.”

“you coud spend more nights here, if you don’t mind” he was hoping she'd say yes, then he could keep an eye on her. She had no one, just her father and now he was unstable.

“if you need anything, i'm down the hall.”

She nodded at him, smiling again, It was obvious that she had forced the smile but he said nothing. He couldn't blame her, who would?

Adira shut the door and leaned on it warning herself not to weep. There was a time she wished she was unalive, had so many suicidal thoughts but thankfully her friends had been there for her.

If anything, she prayed that those feelings would not resurface any more. She needed to be strong for her father and most importantly herself. Adira kept reminding herself that she had been through worse situations so she'd be able to get past this too.

There were times she had starved the entire day, a couple amount of times she had cried herself to sleep but here she was, alive as well, so she was sure she could handle this and handle it extremely well.

With that in mind, she breathed in and out, a couple of times and headed to the bathroom, a long warm shower was what she needed to feel a little better, she dressed up in lucas clothing and walked down the hall to see him in the kitchen.

“hi” she called softly and he turned to her, smiling when their eyes met.

“im really not hungry Luca, im fine” she said to him, honestly, she didn’t feel like having anything, she just wanted to sit with him and feel his comfort.

“just sit right there”

Adira sighed, doing as told. Not long after he approached her with a cup of coftee in his hands.

She eyed him before taking it "Thank you" 

The two stared at each other sipping their coffee but saying nothing, luca wanted to know what she had been told in the hospital,  it's gravity.

"Adira" she looked up to him "you know you can speak to me on anything right?"

she nodded trying her best to not let her lips quiver and sip her coffee quietly but it was difficult, reluctantly she spat her words out, gazing at the man before her as she did.

Watching him intensely to judge him the moment he showed an atom of pity.